Bank of New York Mellon Corp Lowers Stock Position in Valero Energy Corporation $VLO

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon cut its Valero Energy stake by 10.7% in the second quarter, selling 316,240 shares and retaining 2.65 million shares worth approximately $691 million.
• Valero reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $12.54 beating estimates by $2.43 and revenue rising 48.8% year over year to $44.48 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $1.20 per share, or $4.80 annualized, while analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $288.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in shares of Valero Energy Corporation (NYSE:VLO - Free Report) by 10.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,653,080 shares of the oil and gas company's stock after selling 316,240 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.89% of Valero Energy worth $690,968,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Valero Energy by 3,400.0% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 105 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. JPL Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Valero Energy in the third quarter worth $27,000. Financial Life Planners purchased a new stake in Valero Energy during the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Valero Energy by 134.0% during the first quarter. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 117 shares of the oil and gas company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Torren Management LLC bought a new position in Valero Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.69% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Valero Energy

In other news, SVP Eric A. Fisher sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.17, for a total value of $2,011,275.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 19,742 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,294,212.14. This represents a 27.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Valero Energy Stock Performance

Valero Energy stock opened at $341.30 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $291.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.64. The stock has a market cap of $98.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.16, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 0.55. Valero Energy Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $137.88 and a fifty-two week high of $352.70.

Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The oil and gas company reported $12.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $10.11 by $2.43. The firm had revenue of $44.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $39.47 billion. Valero Energy had a return on equity of 26.74% and a net margin of 5.17%.The business's revenue was up 48.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.28 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Valero Energy Corporation will post 40.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Valero Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 31st. Valero Energy's payout ratio is 19.92%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on VLO. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Valero Energy from $232.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings raised Valero Energy from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Valero Energy from $279.00 to $323.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Zacks Research upgraded Valero Energy from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on Valero Energy from $259.00 to $302.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.00.

Valero Energy Company Profile

Valero Energy Corporation is a San Antonio, Texas–based integrated downstream energy company that manufactures and markets transportation fuels, petrochemical feedstocks and other industrial products. The company's operations focus on refining crude oil into finished fuels such as gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, as well as producing asphalt and other refined product streams for commercial and industrial customers.

In addition to refining, Valero has significant operations in renewable fuels, including the production of ethanol and other biofuels, and it manages an extensive logistics network of pipelines, terminals, rail and marine assets to move feedstocks and finished products.

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